


tell me what you need

by eldinspring



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Domesticity, Established Relationship, F/M, Post S1 of the Punisher, additional tags will be made with upcoming chapters, but with a bit of canon divergence, post s3 of daredevil, rating will change too, this is the after for both of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 11:04:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16722150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eldinspring/pseuds/eldinspring
Summary: ...she feels him crowding her space and she instinctively leans back into him and he wraps his arm around her, his hand splays across her stomach and she finds herself breathing easier.***a five part story of vignettes based off a tumblr prompt, five times kissed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this work is unbeta'd.

_the first time…_

She’s coming home from a meeting with both Foggy and Matt. Something about figuring out some of the finer details about _Nelson, Murdock & Page_. She went because she thought that going right back at it would help her fall into a routine again. She knows that routine is good–even sometimes necessary. She’s come to think that it’s something she needs rather than just all this chaos. She knows that the chaos is her.

She’s coming home and it’s raining–the kind of rain, even when there’s snow on the ground, that makes her think it’s too heavy to be rain–and she hates it. Makes her think of those nights back in Fagan Corners when a particularly bad storm hit and how all the windows in her old family home would rattle. The whole place was a disaster and, in hindsight, she’s wondering how in the hell it managed to last this long without something major falling apart. She  _knows_ where she stands with her father now and, just like him, she’s been trying to forget everything about that house but it’s the kind of memories that creep up on her, that give her that  _odd_ sense of comfort when she knew there was none.

It’s not her home anymore.

By the time she gets to her apartment, she’s soaked to the bone. By the time she slides the key into the lock and turns it, she’s shivering as she’s stepping through the threshold and her shivers turn into trembles as she’s met with a warmth that’s like a blast of hair air. From where she stands in the small corridor, she can almost see him there. He’s in the kitchen and he’s got a small towel thrown over his shoulder. He seems preoccupied but she knows he knows she’s here.

The dogs rushing towards her, greeting her, is certainly a give away. She bends down to pet him, kissing all three of their heads and gently rubbing their ears but when Frank whistles, they leave her alone and go towards him. She’s not yet left the small hallway but she can hear, and somewhat see, him putting plates on the table and she doesn’t need to wonder what he’s made for them because it already smells good and he knows that she loves to eat any of his homemade sauces on days like these.

She peels off her jacket and puts it on a hanger, hanging it on a hook to dry and frowns at the drops of water creating a puddle on the floor. Next are her boots and her socks come off along with them, which is annoying. She takes a second to herself, breathing in and out, standing there barefoot and still cold because her clothes are wet, but she moves and when she comes into view, Frank’s already eating but gets up when he sees her. “Hey,” he says and Karen smiles, walking over to him.

“Hey,” she parrots back and gestures for him to sit back down, to eat, and that she’ll only be a minute because she needs to change. She doesn’t say any of this but it’s implied when she’s got her hand on his shoulder and the way she bends down to kiss him, the way she pulls away only a little and the way their foreheads and noses touch.

They don’t talk about what this is, about what this means. She gives him one last kiss before disappearing into the bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

_the second time..._

 

He’s stayed the night. If he wasn’t, he probably wouldn’t have brought the dogs over with him or the duffel she only noticed after she finished eating. He’s right there next to her, in her bed, sleeping. His even breaths, only broken by the sound of his snores, has her in this groggy state, the kind when she just wakes up after a nap and is tired enough to go back to sleep–the kind of sleep that’s deep and without dreams and, if there are any dreams, she  _can’t_ remember them.

Maybe that’s a good thing.

It’s warm in her bedroom. The heat’s on and she thinks it might be on full blast, but that’s not something she’s going to complain about because one look out her window tells her enough on how cold it is out there. There’s frost already building up and covering the glass panes and she can just make out the icicles hanging off the fire escape, the glow of traffic lights turning them into these blurs of green, yellow and red.

She’s sitting up in bed now, kicking away the covers and just breathing in deep, swallowing several times because her mouth and lips are dry but she’s too tired to get up and get some water. So, she just sits there, her head hanging low and she’s just breathing, in and out. In and out. In and out until she’s in sync with Frank. She thinks she can forgo getting some water, thinks she can lie back down and just sleep. Her body needs it. She’s always telling Frank about how he needs rest, about how his body needs to heal. She’s never once said that to herself. Never once had the chance to do that for herself.

There’s just so much going on in her head right now that even thinking about going back to sleep, even when she thinks she can–even when she thinks she  _should_. It’s like her thoughts have transformed into this corporeal buzzing shape hanging above her, and she feels Frank stirring beside her. It’s not even a second afterwards that she can feel him sitting up in bed, grunting softly as she hears the rustling of her thick duvet comforter being pushed away.

Seconds then and she feels him crowding her space and she instinctively leans back into him and he wraps his arm around her, his hand splays across her stomach and she finds herself breathing easier.

“You okay?” he asks and his voice is deep, soft with sleep as she just nods her head. Their temples are pressed together and she can feel Frank turning a little and kisses the corner of her mouth. They don’t say anything, just sit there, and she’s content to be like this. But Frank knows that she needs rest so she doesn’t resist when he tugs her down to lie with him, Frank tugging the comforter over them and she’s enveloped in this embrace of warmth.

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i haven't written fics in ages--and i do mean ages. would love to know what you think and if you enjoyed this thing that i wrote (i have no idea what i'm doing). <3


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